Kelly: Trump “Routinely” Offered Journalists Gifts

Fox News host Megyn Kelly has a book she’s trying to sell and with that in mind we can view some of her claims and degree of sincerity with skepticism, but nothing about this particular claim strikes me as implausible.

On top of claiming that some anchors and journalists were “acting” during scripted on-camera interviews with despot-elect Donald Trump, Kelly also claims Trump “routinely” offered journalists gifts in exchange for favorable coverage.

Kelly, who tangled with Trump repeatedly during the campaign, also wrote in her book that the President-elect routinely offered journalists gifts of free airfare and stays at Trump hotels in exchange for favorable coverage.

Though Kelly declined to name names, one particularly Trump-friendly Fox host apparently felt he was being called out.

As you might have guessed, resident toady and Trump fan club president Sean Hannity took personal offense to Kelly’s claim even though she didn’t name him.

Way to score an own-goal, Sean.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone if Trump really did offer gifts and hotel rooms to journalists in exchange for favorable coverage. The real question is if any of them accepted his offer. That would reflect poorly on them more so than Trump himself.

Considering the number of journalists and reporters who flocked to Trump’s self-serving business photo-ops during the campaign, such as the opening of his D.C. hotel at the Old Post Office, I’d be more surprised if none of them accepted his offer.